Product Catalog

SMART IP VERSION 2
Enabling IP Applications On Wireless Networks 

Smart IP Version 2 is a mobile middleware product that enhances the performance of Internet and IP-based applications over wireless networks

Highlights

• Increases the speed of wireless transmission

• Reduces the amount of data sent over the air to lower airtime expenses

• Provides auto connect, disconnect and reconnect features for circuit-switched connectivity

• Offers intelligent agents that further enhance the performance of browser-based, FTP and Telnet applications

• Provides IP compatibility for non-IP networks

• Includes SDK for building custom intelligent agents

Smart IP is a mobile middleware product that allows Internet/intranet and IP-based applications to run over wireless networks efficiently.  By understanding the mobile environment, Smart IP employs technology that increases the speed of transmission and minimizes the user involvement to create the best overall user experience. 

Smart IP works out-of-the-box and uses proxy server technology to seamlessly support the Winsock application programming interface used by Internet and IP-based applications, while utilizing Broadbeam’s Optimized Wireless Transport Protocol to send data over the air.  Since it was designed for wireless applications, Smart IP offers “wireless-smart” features that allow applications to perform faster, easier, and more reliably than standard TCP/IP.

Optimizes wireless communication
Broadbeam’s Optimized Wireless Transport Protocol reduces the amount of communication overhead and compresses data, thereby reducing transmission time and the amount of data sent over the air as compared to standard TCP/IP.  It also adjusts its transmission speeds automatically to adapt to changing coverage conditions. The HTTP/HTML IPA that is included in Smart IP, combined with Broadbeam’s Optimized Wireless Transport, provides significant performance improvements over the wireless network. 

Benchmarking results show that Smart IP improves the performance of text files by reducing of the amount of data sent over the air by as much as 75% and reduced response time by as much as 68% over a 32Kbps dial-up connection. See results in table below.    

Improves circuit-switched data connectivity
Smart IP improves the resilience of a circuit-switched connection with auto connect, auto disconnect, and auto reconnect features

• Auto connect:  Smart IP will automatically initiate a connection on behalf of the application when data needs to be sent, thereby eliminating extra steps for the user and making connecting wirelessly effortless

• Auto disconnect:  If Smart IP detects inactivity during a pre-configured period of time, it will automatically take down the connection, thereby saving on airtime expenses

• Auto reconnect:  Occasionally wireless coverage conditions fade, usually resulting in a broken connection. In these instances, Smart IP will maintain a virtual connection, preventing the need to restart the application or session, and then seamlessly re-establish the connection when coverage becomes available.

Intelligent agents streamline application transactions
In addition to the communication improvements, Smart IP also provides intelligent protocol agents (IPAs) for applications using HTTP/HTML (such as browsers), FTP and Telnet protocols.  The agents understand these protocols and therefore look for ways to further improve the performance through techniques such as caching, batching, filtering and others.  The HTTP/HTML IPA greatly improves the performance of browsers over wireless networks by reducing the amount of unnecessary data communicated by removing comment tags, image tags, applet tags, extra spaces, etc.  This IPA also tokenizes common HTML keywords or sub-strings and spoofs HTTP responses to streamline the amount of data sent over the air.

Smart IP also offers a software development kit that allows developers to build custom agents for a wide-variety of standard or custom Internet or IP-based applications.  By understanding the applications architecture, developers can easily find ways to enhance these applications for wireless communication using IPAs without modifying the actual application.

Supports a broad range of platforms
Smart IP allows Internet/intranet and IP-based applications to run over a broad range of wireless networks, including non-IP based networks, out-of-the-box.  It has never been easier to wireless enable your Internet application!

Dashboard provides connectivity information

Smart IP also includes a graphical dashboard that puts important connectivity information at a user’s fingertips.  The dashboard displays whether or not the user is connected to the network, network signal strength and modem battery level to make it easy to know when connectivity is possible and to facilitate troubleshooting.  When using a Windows® based device, the dashboard is easily accessible through the ever-present task tray.

Why Use Smart IP?
Smart IP is the obvious choice to wireless-enable your Internet application because it:

• Makes wireless compatibility simple and easy

• Increases communication speed shortening the time your users need to send and receive critical   data

• Reduces the amount of data sent thereby lowering your airtime expenses

• Provides reliable, user-friendly wireless connectivity, improving the overall user experience

• Improves the performance of standard Internet applications such as web browsers

• Makes it possible to enhance your application for wireless connectivity through IPAs without modifying the actual application

Technical Features

• Supports standard Winsock API

• Optimized transport reduces overhead, supports any size message, resends only missing data, and adapts to changing conditions

• Auto connect, disconnect and reconnect for circuit-switched connections

• Support for firewall and FTP proxies

• HTTP/HTML, Telnet and FTP IPAs

• SDK for building IPAs included

• Dashboard provides network contact, signal strength and modem battery level data

• Provides message packaging of transmission from multiple sockets

• Support for localization

Software Requirements

Client

Windows® 95/98, Windows NT, Windows CE, or Palm OS

Server

Windows NT

Development tools
Supports any Winsock DLL v 1.1 or 2.0.  IPA development with Microsoft  Visual C++ 5.0 or any compiler that can produce a Windows-compliant DLL (support varies according to platform).

Hardware Requirements

Mobile device

Windows 95, 98, NT:  486 processor or later

Windows CE:  MIPS, SH3

Palm Computing:  Palm III, Palm V

Server

Pentium 90 MHz or higher with 32 MB RAM and 1 GB hard drive

Network Support

Packet data networks: Motient, BellSouth Wireless Data/Mobitex, CDPD

IP/Circuit switched cellular:  GSM, CDMA, DoPa, LAN, PDC, PHS, Nextel, Wireless LAN and others

Application Support

The following applications have been tested to run with Smart IP, many others are also compatible.  Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator and Communicator, Qualcomm Eudora, Sybase Ultralite, Microsoft Exchange Server 5.0 or later using Outlook web browser access, Lotus cc: Mail, Telnet, IBM Emulator Express, custom IP applications and various FTP clients.

Product Packaging 

 The Smart IP SDK is available as part of the Broadbeam Developer Suite subscription, which offers all product SDKs for all platforms and networks support on one easy-to-use CD-ROM for only $1245 US per year. To learn more about Broadbeam’s award-winning family of mobile middleware, or for Smart IP License pricing and ordering information, call the vendor at 609-734-0300 today or visit their web site at www.Broadbeam.com. For more information, contact the vendor - Broadbeam Systems at (609) 734-0300.

Customers Using Smart IP Product 

• Sears Retail Giant.  Go to their case study

• Country companies Insurance Group used Smart IP for their claims application. Go to their case study

• City of London, Ontario Police Service's Public Safety application.  Go to their case study

• Henrico Police Service - Go to their case study

Vendor URL

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Information Source : Broadbeam